The dangerous Prince Tagoe scored twice while Saleh Bashar and Waleed Al Rajaa also netted for the hosts to secure the three points that ensured Ettifaq will finish top of the standings.

The defeat leaves Bunyodkor in second place and needing to avoid defeat in their final game against Al Shabab Al Arabi if they are to progress.

“We played a nice game tonight and we were really smart by playing on the quick counter attacks which helped us to win,” said Andone.

“I would like to thank the players for their performance especially as they played in hot weather.

“Before the game I told the players that we need the three points and we managed to do that. We were lucky to open the scoring and things would have been difficult for us had we not scored quickly.

“Bunyodkor gave us a fight tonight and they were led by great players like Rivaldo. They have some quality players but their problem was that they didn’t have a lot of scoring chances.”

The victory means Ettifaq are through to the next round of the AFC Champions regardless of the result in their final game of the group stage.

And Andone admitted he may make changes to his side for the next game.

“We are thinking now to rest some players in the next match,” he added.

“We play all our matches looking to win and it doesn’t matter who we will playing in the next stage.”

Bunyodkor coach Hikmat Irgashev felt a gruelling fixture schedule recently took its toll on his players.

“When we trailed 2-0 we had no other but to attack,” he said.

“We have played four matches in one week and our players didn’t have enough time to recover and they were really tired. This was one of the main reasons behind our big defeat.

“After we conceded an early goal, the team’s performance was disappointing and our aim to get back into the game didn’t work for us. The players didn’t show any will to get back to the game.

“We still have the chance to qualify as our next game is at home with Al Shabab.

“I hope that we can get a good result and take all three points because a win will put us in the next round.”